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Game of the Week for November 5, 2006

Jordan Renz hit “The Shot Heard ‘Round Provo” to win the Pioneer League pennant for the Provo Angels on September 13, 2004.

The Angels Minor League Game of the Week for November 5 is another classic. It’s September 13, 2004. The Provo Angels host the Billings Mustangs in Game 2 of the Pioneer League Championship Series.

The Pioneer League is a short-season league, so their title series is best-of-three. Provo won the first game in Billings, then both teams bussed back to Provo for Game 2.

The game was important for other reasons. It was to be the last game ever for the Provo Angels. The next summer, they moved six miles west on University Parkway to a shared facility with Utah Valley State College in Orem. The team changed its name to the Orem Owlz.

The Provo Angels’ franchise had moved from Helena for the 2001 season. They rented Larry H. Miller Field, the BYU college team’s ballpark, that first year with the understanding that the City of Provo was going to build them a permanent stadium. But it never happened, for reasons as varied as the opinions you get.

BYU made it clear that they wouldn’t extend the lease past 2004, so win or lose the Provo Angels would cease to exist after the playoff series. If not for the UVSC deal, the franchise probably would have left Utah County, perhaps even the state of Utah.

Anyway, back to the championship game …

The score was tied 2-2 going into the bottom of the 8th. Outfielder Jordan Renz hit a two-run homer that gave Provo a 4-2 lead. Closer Mitch Arnold struck out the side in the 9th to give the Angels the title.

My own personal story with this game is that my wife and I drove up to Provo for the game. I sidekicked with broadcaster/Assistant GM Zachary Fraser during the middle innings, then ran back downstairs to videotape highlights.

Since Provo had no radio contract, Zach was using a laptop to webcast the playoff games over the Internet, for an audience that probably consisted mostly of players’ parents. That’s why you don’t hear any commercials on the recording. It’s just Zach talking to a microphone plugged into a laptop. Today Zach is the Owlz’ GM, one of the youngest GMs in the minors.

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